Boks shift gears to bury England

The Springboks rewarded the Ellis Park faithful with a seven try 45-21 victory (half-time 17-14) over England on Saturday, starting their Nations Championship with a convincing win.

Rugby at the Park is not quite dead as was predicted earlier in the week, just ask the 52 790 that came out to support the world’s top-ranked team. The Boks did not disappoint, despite the best efforts of the English.

The Springboks were forced into late changes before kick-off with both Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth pulling out on the match-23, forcing a reshuffle with Paul de Villiers and Cameron Hanekom starting as flankers. Ben-Jason Dixon came onto the bench and Pieter-Steph du Toit moved to lock and took over the captaincy.

Damian Willemse and Cheslin Kolbe lead the team onto the field though as they celebrated 50 Tests for the Springboks and both delivered inspirational rugby over the next 80 minutes.

Willemse led the charge for the first early blow struck by the Springboks as well. A great run down the left by the fullback – with him tackled centimetres from the line – resulted in a good recycle by the pack and Thomas du Toit crashed over with three defenders on his back. Kolbe missed the conversion but the Boks were up and running early.

Kolbe redeemed himself two minutes later with a great try. Ox Nche broke through the middle and ran strongly and when the Bok speedster was given the ball, he stepped past defenders as if there was no one in front of him. The conversion was good and the Boks up 12-0 up before the pre-match entertainers found their seats.

Nche unfortunately left the field soon after with a leg injury, with Gerhard Steenekamp replacing him eight minutes in but the Boks kept attacking and after Kolbe was impeded chasing a high kick, more points followed.

From the resulting line-out the ball was worked wide and Kurt-Lee Arendse finished brilliantly in the corner, with his outside swerve too slick for Marcus Smith coming across. The lead changed to 17-0 after 13 minutes.

England finally got going after 15 minutes of defending and a good attack down the middle forced the Boks into conceding a penalty near their own line. England opted for a tap and after more than a dozen short bursts, Jamie George dotted down but the TMO intervened, pointing out that the England captain had played the ball from an offside position at the ruck and the Boks escaped the visitors’ burst of energy.

The next quarter became more tactical, with kicking the preferred option for gaining territory. The Boks had the edge there as well though, with Grant Williams and Willemse pinning England down in their half. Willemse was imperious in the air and Kolbe and Arendse chased every Williams kick with great energy.

Arendse was pinged for a deliberate knockdown 28 minutes in and had to spend 10 minutes in the sin bin and England stepped on the gas. They played the numbers well and kicked into the space on the left often and with great effect.

The English kept plugging away and Ellis Genge crashed over from short range for their first points 36 minutes in. Two minutes later, after the Boks conceded possession, George Martin ran over two defenders to score in the corner. The conversion by Fin Smith was good again and suddenly, at 17-14, England were back in it at the break.

The second half started well for the Springboks. They kicked to the corner following a penalty and their power game kicked in. They busted it up a couple of times before Williams sniped through from a ruck close to the line. Kolbe converted and at 24-14, some parity was restored.

England attacked well soon after but lost possession and the Boks could push them back. Dixon, Marco van Staden and Zach Porthen all joined the fray 50 minutes in as both coaches started using their impact players.

The visitors also made some changes with Alex Mitchell at scrumhalf the most significant, as his kicking game was perfectly suited for what England was trying to achieve but rather it was Jesse Kriel who scored next after some good forward momentum was created by the Bok pack. Kolbe kicked the conversion and that, as well as the appearance from Henry Pollock, had the crowd in full voice.

At 31-14 with 20 minutes left, the Boks seemed to have found their swagger again.

Territory became the premium focus for both teams and with a fairly even kicking battle, no real advantage in this area was established. England, realising that kick and hope was not getting them anywhere, reverted back to carrying the ball up and gained more decisive momentum that way.

It also yielded a third try just at the right time as Alex Coles crashed over from a line-out drive and Fin Smith’s conversion cut the lead to 10 points.

Unfortunately for England, Tommy Freeman was yellow carded for a high tackle on Willemse, which meant that England was going to finish the match with 14 players. That became 13 a minute later after Guy Pepper was binned for a tackle without the ball.

The Boks kicked to the corner and Malcolm Marx (who else?) stood up under the heap of bodies to celebrate yet another try at his former stomping ground. Kolbe kicked the conversion and with six minutes to play, the lead jumped to an unassailable 38-21.

The hosts were now in full control. Another line-out drive was stopped, but from the resulting penalty they opted for a scrum, with Dixon crashing over for give the final confirmation that the Springbok season for 2026 looks bright indeed.

England, now on a five-match losing streak, came and saw but could not conquer.

Score

Springboks 45 (17) - Tries: Thomas du Toit, Cheslin Kolbe, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Grant Williams, Jesse Kriel, Malcolm Marx, Ben-Jason Dixon. Conversions: Kolbe (5).

England 21 (14) - Tries: Ellis Genge, George Martin, Alex Coles. Conversions: Fin Smith (3).